The Goodnatured Man

hornpipe

Key signature: Gmajor

Submitted on October 7th 2001 by Will Harmon.

This tune has been added to 95 tunebooks.

Also known as The Good Humoured Man, The Good Natured Man, The Steamboat.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

• All Ireland Champion Musicians Singers And Dancers On Tour Of Australia by Na Ridiri
• Echoes Of Erin by The Tulla Ceili Band
• English Fiddle Tunes by Pete Cooper
• Foinn Seisiun 3 by Ennis/Dublin Session Group
• Geantrai - Live Session Recordings From The TV Series by Various Artists
• Kids In A Candy Store by Rick May And Gil Yslas
• Launching The Boat by Siona
• Martin Hayes by Martin Hayes
• Purgatory Chasm by Skip Healy
• Reed Only by Tim Collins/Brian McNamara
• The First Harvest by Iain MacDonald And Iain MacFarlane
• The Friendly Visit by Frank Brunel And Vincent Rosinach
• The Heather Breeze by Heathery Breeze Ceili Band
• The West Of Ireland by Boys Of The Lough
• They Sailed Away From Dublin Bay by Liam Farrell And Joe Whelan

X: 1
T: Goodnatured Man, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: hornpipe
K: Gmaj
(3def|:g2 bg d2 gd|BcdB G2 AB|cded cBAG|
|(3FGF EF D2 ef|g2 bg d2 gd|BcdB GBAB|
cedc BGAF||1 DGGF G2 (3def:|2 DGGF GABc||
|:dcdB gfgd|e^dec a^gae|~f3 e dfaf|
gage de (3fed|g2 bg d2 gd|BcdB GBAB|
cedc BAGF|1 AGGF GABc:|2 AGGF G2 (3def||

The Goodnatured Man

You can hear a nice version of this on Martin Hayes's cd "Martin Hayes," though I think he does it in F. Most commonly played in G major as posted here, watch for those accidentals in the second measure of Part B.

As a hornpipe, it goes well at a slow to moderate tempo, and seems to want to linger on the second main downbeat of each bar (the 5th note in the count of 8). It goes well with Chief O' Neill's Favorite, the Hangman's Noose, or An Comhra Donn.

# Posted on October 7th 2001 by Will Harmon

Steamboat/good natured man

There'a new CD out by 2 of Scotland's finest young(ish) musicians, Iain MacDonald (pipes & flute - ex-"Battlefield Band" & "Ossian"), and Iain MacFarlane (fiddle), which has this tune on it. (Cd is titled"The First Harvest").
It is a composition of Scottish-born, but Gateshead-resident fiddle-player James Hill, who also wrote "The High-Level Hornpipe", "The Bees-wing", and , according to Joe Burke, "The Scholar". Many of his compositions have entered the repertoire of traditional Irish musicians. Also recorded by "The Boys Of The Lough" on their "West of Ireland" CD. A fine tune, so credit where it is due to the composer.

# Posted on March 14th 2003 by Kenny

The Steamboat

According to the Fiddler's Companion it is not certain whether Hill composed this. I found this on the net:

S:George Spencer m/s, Leeds,1831
|:d2|g2bg d2gd|B2dB G2G2|F2AF D2d2|c2B2 B2d2|
g2bg d2gd|B2dB G2BG|FGAB cAGF|G2G2 G2:|
|:Bc|d2de dBGB|c2cd cAFA|GABc defg|edcB A2Bc|
d2de dBGB|c2cd cAFA|Ggec BdFA|G2G2 G2:|

Considering Hill was actively composing stuff 1840-1860 this seems a bit early to me.

Not that it really matters. It's a nice tune. Where I'm from it's known as "The Steamboat Hornpipe". The version I play is one that I got from a handwritten manuscript photocopied for me when I was at school. It goes like this:

|:(3def|g2bg d2gd|BcdB G2AB|c2ec A2cA|FGAB cdef|
g2bg d2gd|BcdB G2AB|cedc BAGF|A2G2 G2:|
|:Bc|dBdB g2gd|ecec a2ae|fefd gfgb|agfe defd|
g2bg d2gd|BcdB G2AB|cedc BAGF|A2G2 G2:|

# Posted on August 11th 2004 by Dr. Dow

Recently recorded by Kevin Griffin

Not on the track listing, but a cracking version can be heard here: http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/3735

# Posted on August 14th 2010 by octogreg

The Goodnatured Man

In Kohler's Violin Repository it is called "The Steamboat Hornpipe" as well, with no composer credit.

# Posted on January 8th 2012 by nigelg